Boeing expanding unmanned helicopter project at SCLA

VICTORVILLE - Boeing plans to expand its work with the unmanned A160T Hummingbird helicopter at Southern California Logistics Airport, which set a world record for endurance earlier this year.

The City Council recently approved a three-year lease of a large hangar to the Boeing Company for the project.

Boeing, which already operates several buildings at SCLA, will pay Victorville $4,099 each month to lease Hangar 879, with rent increasing 3 percent for the second and third years.

While specific plans for the nearly 7,000-square-foot hanger are restricted by the military, company spokesman Steve Mattei said Boeing will use the space to extend its program and continue development on the unmanned vehicle.

Boeing has been testing the aircraft in Victorville since 2002 under a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It's being developed to provide reconnaissance and direct attacks for the U.S. military.

The unmanned aircraft measures 35 feet long with a 36-foot rotor diameter, and will eventually fly up to 30,000 feet.

The drone set a world record in May for its 18.7-hour endurance flight, landing with two hours of fuel remaining. The flight is being claimed as the longest on record in its class, and for "unrefueled rotorcraft endurance."

Other milestones for the A160 include hovering at 16,700 feet for over seven minutes, reaching speeds of 142 knots and carrying a 1,000-pound payload for eight hours.

These flights marked the end of phase one testing for the helicopter, which started in June 2007, and has included a total of 14 flights over 60 hours.

The helicopter was involved in two crashes during these test flights, though nobody was injured, of course, since no one was onboard the unmanned chopper.

"This has been an aggressive flight test program, and A160 has made excellent progress," said DARPA program manager Phil Hunt. "The result has been a steadily increasing level of confidence and reliability."

During phase two, company materials state, Boeing will continue payload testing and experimentation.

The phase is expected to last eight months and include an additional 60 hours of flight envelope expansion, 250 hours of ground testing and a number of system modifications.